


Once, you were my Vhenan. Now, I am content (The Tranquil Solution)

by Andarine_Lavellan



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst, Angst without a happy ending, Dragon Age Quest: Promise of Destruction, F/M, I'm Bad At Summaries, Rite of Tranquility, Solavellan, Tranquil Inquisitor, Unrequited Love, before that, heart-crushing sadness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-05
Updated: 2015-12-10
Packaged: 2018-05-05 00:30:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5354090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andarine_Lavellan/pseuds/Andarine_Lavellan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Inquisitor has been captured by Red Templars and made tranquil. They proceed to leave her bound as a "present" for the Inquisition. They find her, try to deal with the pain, and find a solution.</p><p>Problem is, the Inquisition had not investigated the missing Seekers, and now probably never will.</p><p>How do her companions, advisors, and hobo elven apostate lover react? Will they be able to cope?</p><p>*ON HIATUS INDEFINITELY* (I cannot match my original writing quality for all I try)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Woman who fears for nothing.

**Author's Note:**

> I felt so horrible writing this. Like. Wow. I've been a bad, bad person.
> 
> And yet, an Inquisitor turned tranquil intrigued me. Huh.
> 
> So here you have it, an exercise in angst.

  
Leliana was angry. Angry and worried. The Inquisitor, Elia Lavellan, had been in a routine sweep of the Hinterlands, closing the final rifts and subduing the few remaining templars in the West Road. She had maintained regular communication with Skyhold for the first two weeks, but after that, all communication had ceased, and no word had arrived yet.  
  
She was so deeply mired in her thoughts that only the extremely loud cawing of her ravens could snap her out. She had been running all of the possible scenarios in her head, including that of demonic possession, and she had not realised the presence of one of her scouts trying his very best to seem insignificant, especially as she turned to look at him.  
  
“Nightingale, the Commander sent me; He says that the Inquisitor’s party has returned. They’re in the gates right now”  
  
Leliana was out of her tower and in the garden as fast as her legs could carry her. A horrible, festering feeling was sinking at the pit of her stomach. ‘The Inquisitor’s Party’, the scout had said.  
  
_But not ‘The Inquisitor’_  
  
Her less than favorable predictions were confirmed as she reached Skyhold’s gate, and she spotted only three members limping through the gates, silent with their heads downcast.  
  
Cullen, Josephine, and Cassandra were already here, trying to make sense of what happened. But she already knew. Or thought she knew. When she didn’t spot the Inquisitor, her suspicions were confirmed  
  
Solas was the first to speak up,his bald head bleeding from a nasty cut on his forehead, voice breaking in places as he explained.  
  
“We were ambushed by Red Templars on our way back. They didn’t take kindly to attacks to their brothers in the west road.”  
  
At this moment Blackwall cut in, his bearded face marred by many bruises and welts.  
  
“She sacrificed herself to save us. The last I saw of her were the fireballs. She told us to not look back”  
  
Leliana glanced sideways at the rest of the advisors. Cullen looked like he was going to be sick and Josephine was almost crying. However, the one who looked most distraught was Solas.  
  
_Of course_ , she thought, she had heard about their less than secret rendezvous in the middle of a forest clearing, or the way their hands locked when they walked together, probably more at her insistence than his.  
  
_Elia Lavellan, the Herald of Andraste, the Inquisitor, a friend to anyone, always the kind soul, possibly killed by templars._  
  
She did not have time to wallow in her grief, as a sudden smile appeared on Josephine’s face.  
  
“We could ask Cole where she is, right?”  
  
As soon as those words had rolled from her mouth, Cole had appeared and was standing in the middle of the group.  
  
He had not straightened completely and Leliana was already near him.  
  
“Cole, please, you need to help us! Can you tell us if she’s alive?” she said.

  
“Yes. She is alive” Cole responded, his voice unchanged and unmoving.  
  
“Where is she? Is she well?”  
  
Cullen’s hard voice interrupted the mental shakedown Leliana was performing to the poor boy. “Leliana, he can read minds, but he is not there! He can only feel what she’s thinking about at the moment”  
  
“She’s afraid, bitter, hurt, afraid of what sleep can bring. They are planning something, but she does not know what. I did the right thing”  
  
Cassandra spoke up, a tone in her voice indicating that no complaints would be accepted, her usual stoic attitude shaken, face ashen.  
  
“We need to get to the Hinterlands. Now.”  
  
“But Cassandra, they have only just returned. We need some time to try and figure out where she’s being kept” Leliana said, her voice disarmingly sweet.  
  
“No. we move now, Leliana, she may be in danger! Or did you not hear what Cole said?”  
  
“Of course I did”, she responded. “but wouldn’t it be best if…”  
  
“No buts, Leliana.” she turned to glance at Cullen, her fury spiking again. “Commander, I expect everyone in the Inquisitor’s inner circle at Skyhold’s gates, fully armed and debriefed, in a half-hour.”  
  
“It shall be done” was his curt reply.  
  
———————————————————————————————————————————  
  
All of the Inquisitor’s inner circle, along with Cassandra, Leliana, and Cullen, were riding in a breakneck pace, changing mounts at convenient posts in the main trading road as soon as the ones they were riding finally gave up. At this pace, it would take them less than a day to get to the Hinterlands.  
  
Cole was riding in the same horse as Leliana, who had tasked him to tell her of any interesting developments that happened to Elia or her condition. He had been completely quiet for the length of the journey, but now the spymaster detected his hesitation, a slight trembling of his lips, but no words ushered from those sealed lips.  
  
“What is it, Cole?”  
  
“She’s even more scared now. _Filthy knife-eared apostate must learn her place_. Wrists tight, no mana, no way to escape. The floor is hurting her, she can’t move, but she’s moving.” came his response, a slight undertone of fear in his voice  
  
“She’s probably being dragged somewhere.” was Leliana’s assumption. “Can you see more, Cole?”  
  
“I-I’m trying.”  
  
“Well, try harder. It’s the Inquisitor we’re talking about here!”  
  
“I understand. It happens now. No, no, no, no, anything but that!” his voice had risen, histeria threatening to drown the rest of his statement. “No, please, no. Empty inside, a used healing potion. At least they are safe. Solas…” His words were cut off by an unearthly scream that made the whole column stop.  
  
“Cole!?” “What happened?” Leliana was panicking now, emotion threatening to overflow her well-crafted cool, cracks in her manner showing.  
  
Cole looked as dumbfounded as the rest of the party “I can no longer feel her. She’s not here anymore”  
  
“Can…Can she be dead?” Cassandra asked the question everyone had on their lips.  
  
“I do not know.”  
  
“You were going to say something about Solas at the end. What was it?” Leliana interjected before anyone had time to process what he had said.  
  
Cole looked as if he were mentally steeling himself. When he finally spoke, his voice has so low Leliana had to statin to hear it.  
  
_“Solas, emma lath. Var lath vir suledin.”_  
  
“And what does that mean, exactly?”  
  
No one had seen Solas approach, much less heard him. And yet he was there, sorrow and regret written on his face.  
  
“It means, Solas, my love. Our love will endure.”  
  
“NO!” Sera shouted now, her voice a barely repressed ball of rage, anger, and sadness.  
  
“ _Vishante Kaffas_ , woman. Why?!”  
  
“Maker bless her.”  
  
Leliana was the only one with a semblance of self-control left, and she spoke to the group.  
  
“If what Cole says is true, then it matters not if we search for her. If he’s not correct…” she pointed at the sky, which was completely black, even the moon obscured by clouds so thick not one sliver of light filtered through. “ …We can no longer search for her now. We should rest.”  
  
The group grumbled and complained, but eventually everyone had pitched their tents, all but one, which lay abandoned in a heap of excess supplies.  
  
None of them noticed the fully armoured templar slinking away, red lyrium-covered hand shining faintly with a life of it’s own.

* * *

  
  
The next day transpired well until dawn before Varric, who was supposed to be keeping watch, woke up with a start. His demeanor was calm for the first few seconds after waking up, but then he remembered what had happened yesterday and the days before. He was not so smug now.  
  
As he rose from the uncomfortable position he had been sleeping on, he noticed a body in the middle of the road, not far but a long way away. _That definitely wasn’t there yesterday._  
  
He walked to where the body was located, feeling a very uncomfortable sense of foreboding with every step he took towards it. He could recognise more and more physical features as he came closer to the body, which, he now saw, had dirty blond hair, and a pair of pointed ears sticking out of it.  
  
Another victim to this madness, he thought, his own train of though sounding less and less convincing every time he could discern another feature. _But dwarves can’t dream!_  
  
But it wasn’t a dream. Elia Lavellan was in a ditch in the middle of the road, her arms and legs bound, her greasy and unkempt long bangs obscuring most of her face and vallaslin,her clothes almost in tatters and deep gashes in so many places in her skin; And yet, her chest was rising and falling, albeit slowly. Varric gasped. And then shouted.  
  
“Tiny! I could use some help down here!”  
  
From far away came the sounds of a din much larger than that of a single tent opening, and Varric found himself thinking if he had accidentally woken the whole camp. Well, shit.  
  
“Varric? What’s happening?” Cassandra’s voice trailed from afar. The Seeker had always been a light sleeper.  
  
“I found someone, and she’s injured! If you’re going to help, move your ass fast, Seeker”  
  
The whole camp was there in less than a minute, expressions ranging from disbelieving to ecstatic. Solas, however, made way through all the crowd, ordering everyone to stand back in not-so-subtle tones. He started chanting, staff twirling above his head, a circle of magic forming at his, and a few moments later, a rush of healing energy flew past the party and went to strike Lavellan.  
  
Her eyes shuddered, and then opened. Immediately the Seeker was upon her, untying the bindings that kept both her arms and legs unable to move.  
  
Varric had expected Lavellan to be confused, sad, or even angry, but the look she was giving everyone was blank.  
  
Before anyone could speak, however, Lavellan spoke up, her blank expression unmoving, an emotionless monotone to her voice.  
  
“Good morning, Seeker Cassandra. Solas.”  
  
At the sound of those words, Cassandra, Cullen, and Varric tensed, first in confusion, then in outright shock. Please, let him have misheard the tone. Please.  
  
“Is there a problem? You seem troubled. Is there any way I can help you?” she continued, oblivious to the fact everyone was staring at her in disbelief.  
  
Said in any other way, it would have sounded like Daisy and her innocent remarks, but the lifeless, emotionless monotone could only mean one thing. She had been made Tranquil. He could see everyone reaching the same conclusion as he, as a gust of wind blew, lifting her bangs, revealing what no one had wanted to see.  
  
The Chantry’s radiant sun in her forehead. The symbol of Tranquility.


	2. Ma Halani, Vhenan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Imma back!! I'm not entirely pleased with how it turned out, but it's a transition to more important places.
> 
> Enjoy!!

Varric spoke, faster and frantic, as though he couldn’t believe what had happened.  
  
“Are you all right, Elia? Are you feeling well? A concussion, perhaps?”  
  
“I am perfectly fine, Dorian. I assure you that I have not suffered any permanent injuries, besides those I already possess.” Elia answered, nothing in her face betraying even a glimpse of emotion, emotion that less than a day ago would have been so common in her face.  
  
Solas had now rather forcefully pushed his way through the small crowd that was the erstwhile rescue party. His body language and expression seemed to be as calm and neutral as in any other occasion, but The Iron Bull could see feelings in his eyes. Pain. Pain, regret, and a touch of anger, he thought.  
  
“ _Vhenan_.” he said, soothing words not reflecting his true feelings. “We need to take you to Skyhold.  Perhaps there is a way they can do something to help your…” he flinches. “Your condition”  
  
“I would prefer not to stay here.” Elia says, her tone the same cold, hard and unfeeling than last time. It is as if every time she speaks, where before she was warmth and love and compassion, now she’s ice and grey and faded. “It would be rational to return somewhere safer. I am content with my condition as a Tranquil.”  
  
Those short, clipped tones. She would now never know how much it hurt him to listen to them.  
  
Cassandra cut in, her face very different from the stoic mask she put every day.  
  
“Can you walk? Do you need us to carry you?”  
  
“I seem to be able to walk. I would prefer if I could walk alone, unless it makes you uncomfortable.”  
  
The rest of the journey passed in silence.  


* * *

  
  
It took until evening and the fact that Skyhold’s sizeable bulk loomed over the horizon before Solas attempted to strike a conversation up again, his feeling of desperation growing at every word said and unsaid.  
  
“Elia, do you remember what you are? The Inquisitor?”  
  
“I do remember, Solas. I know that I am no longer a threat to the world with my dangerous mark.”  
  
“No. _Vhenan_ , no. You must remember! You are the Inquisitor! You help people and defend this world from Corypheus and his Venatori!”  
  
“I seem to be causing you pain. Is there any way I can help?”  
  
“No, _vhenan_. You can’t.” His voice was deep and full of regret and sorrow.  
  
“I am sorry. _Ir_ _abelas_.”  
  
“There is nothing to be sorry about, _ma_ _vhenan_.”  
  
“I will remain unobtrusive for the rest of the journey, if it causes you distress.”  
  
“I-I… Please do, thank you”  
  
Josephine was the first to meet them, half-hidden inside the gates in an attempt to mask any trouble from the unsuspecting dignitaries visiting Skyhold. It would not help the Inquisition’s reputation if the fact that the Inquisitor had been captured got out.  
  
She almost screamed with joy at the first sight of the rescue group’s safe arrival, but she immediately realised something was wrong. No one in her rescue group looked even remotely happy, and Elia looked very stiff walking alongside the trudging horses.  
  
“Inquisitor! It is relieving to see you back unharmed!.”  
  
Every companion braced themselves for the disillusion that would soon follow.  
  
“Good evening, Josephine.” Elia said, eyes unblinking, focus unwavering.  
  
“I…Inquisitor, are you well?”  
  
“Yes, Josephine, I am hale and in good health.” she said, every syllable another nail in the coffin for her companions.  
  
Solas cut in before the visibly paler ambassador did something as damning as faint.  
  
“Perhaps we could continue this conversation somewhere more private?”  
  
The ambassador seemed to regain her composure at the suggestion, but her rigid posture claimed otherwise. “Of course. Let’s continue this conversation in the War Room.”  
  
They walked alongside one another, their faces masks of false confidence as they traversed Skyhold towards the only private place in Skyhold: the War Room.  
  
“What happened? Why is she like this?” Josephine muttered through gritted teeth, her outward politeness all but discarded.  
  
“She was captured by Red Templars while she made a stand to let all of us live.” Solas muttered.  
  
“And then? Why is she like that? Did she hit her head?”  
  
“Have you heard about the rite of Tranquility, Ambassador?” Solas said, answering her question with another question.  
  
Several nobles turned to look at Josephine as a quickly muffled gasp escaped from her mouth.  
  
“No!”  
  
“Yes…”  
  
“But then what do we do? What do we tell the nobles?”  
  
“That is a matter of debate, preferably discussed after we… reach the War Room”  he finished.  


* * *

  
  
The heavy doors to the room which was the center of operations of the entire Inquisition closed shut with a very loud slam, and Cullen hurriedly applied the locks to the single entrance. Everyone sighed in relief.  
Leliana was the first to speak, her normal sweet voice dripping with venom.  
  
“As you probably all know, the Inquisitor has been made Tranquil by the Red Templars while protecting the rest of us from an ambush. As far as we know, there is no cure for Tranquility, but before the Mage-Templar war, there were rumors that it had been found.”  
  
She stopped for a moment to clear her throat, and then continued. “I will devote all of our scouts to see if we can find a lead somewhere. Are there any concerns?”  
  
Now Josephine spoke up, her voice a forced neutral. “Will we tell Skyhold and Orlais?”  
  
Cullen stepped in, hands resting in the pommel of his sword. “More importantly, are we still going to send her to battle? Or to Adamant Fortress? She can no longer use any magic and cannot defend herself?”  
  
“We will tell everyone, Josie. We cannot hide her forever and the organisation must continue, also they owe us their gratitude for saving Celene and Briala from assassins. As for your concerns, Cullen, I think you’d be better asking them.” She waved her hand at the members of the inner council, all of which had been exceptionally quiet.  
  
“And well?” Cullen asked, and was answered by unanimous cries of “Yeah!”. Bull stepped forward however, and he elaborated professionally, setting his own feelings aside. “The Boss is the only one who can close rifts, so she will continue going. The fact that she’s Tranquil will, as far as I know, only affect her decision-making capacity. And so we bring you, Cassandra.”  
  
“But I’m not the Inquisitor!” the alluded Seeker answered.  
  
“No, but you were the one making decisions back at Haven.”  
  
“Ugh…”  
  
“Are there any more concerns?” Leliana asked, impatient.

"What does Elia think about all this?" Dorian said, anger and irritation marring his tan features.

"I would prefer to be able to help."

"Well then, that's settled."  
  
“I have been thinking since we found her.” Solas said. “And I believe that because her mark is a direct contact into the energies of the fade, if she closes a rift, it might be enough to reverse or counteract her Tranquility.”  
  
“Are you sure, Solas?”  
  
“As sure as one can be, yes.”  
  
“Then send her to the Emerald Graves. The closest rifts are there. It will also give us more time to deal with the nobles and Orlais. Just remember to return before Adamant. Meeting adjourned!"

**Author's Note:**

> Shall Update after December 7th (gee thanks, finals)


End file.
